Ouch: Taiwan’s New China Handler Fails Photo ID Test

Taiwanese politicians are no strangers to political gaffes and self-inflicted embarrassment, but the latest humiliation could have implications beyond domestic politics.

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Tsai Chi-chang of the China-sceptic main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) displays photos of Chinese leader Hu Jintao (R) and senior official Jia Qinglin at the Parliament in Taipei on October 2, 2012. Wang Yu-chi, Taiwan's new top official on China issues, took his oath of office on October 2, but was immediately attacked by the opposition for failing to identify photos of most of Beijing's top politicians.

Newly appointed Mainland Affairs Council chairman Wang Yu-chi, a protege of President Ma Ying-jeou, failed miserably on his first day at the parliament this week when a legislator from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party asked him to identify eight prominent Chinese leaders from their pictures.

The 43-year-old former scholar, whose new job makes him Taiwan’s top official in charge of dealing with China, was able to recognize Chinese President Hu Jintao and Hu’s presumptive successor Xi Jiping but drew a blank on six other ranking members of the country’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee: Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang.

Much to his chagrin, Mr. Wang awkwardly smiled and promised to brush up " on his technique in identifying faces in pictures” but insisted his was thoroughly familiar with the operation of the agency which he heads.

The DPP and even some of his colleagues in the ruling Kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalist Party, cried foul on that claim after Mr. Wang failed another test the next day when he mistook a Taiwanese actor for the well-known Chinese activist Ai Weiwei and was unable to give recall key figures on cross-Strait trade.

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Wang Yu-chi, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, gestures as he speaks at the Parliament in Taipei on October 2, 2012.

Speaking to China Real Time, Tsai Chi-chang, the DPP lawmaker who gave Mr. Wang the pop quiz said: "I don't think [Mr. Wang] has the qualifications to chair the [Mainland Affairs] Council. He couldn't even recognize the faces of his counterparts. Taiwan-China ties are very important and overseeing cross-Strait policies requires familiarity with China matters, but he failed in that."

Mr. Wang's blunder was not only embarrassing for himself, but also a face-losing moment for the Ma administration, which prides itself on mastery of Beijing-Taipei relations. Mr. Ma’s team repeatedly vouched for Mr. Wang's ability to hand the crucial post, saying his past tenure as an advisor in the National Security Council provided him with ample exposure to cross-Strait politics.

Moreover, many analysts say the appointment of Mr. Ma suggests that obedience, rather than experience or political stature, has been the key criteria in a string of new appointments by the Ma administration. Another example, these analysts say, is King Pu-tsung, a longtime top aide and campaign manager to Mr. Ma, who was recently named Taiwan's representative to Washington despite not having any prior training in diplomacy.

A former senior official at Mainland Affairs Council, who spoke to China Real Time on condition of anonymity, said: "It's a fact that Mr. Wang has no prior experience on China matters. The President probably wants to hire someone he really trusts, or he hasn't thought the appointment through."

“We have no comments about what happened but the president firmly stands by all the cabinet members,” said Fang Chiang Tai-chi, spokesman for the Presidential Office.

Is having your closest friends as your top aides necessarily bad thing?

Former DPP lawmaker Shen Fu-hsiung who is now a political TV commentator doesn't think so. With Mr. Wang at the helm of China affairs, Beijing never has to wonder if the messenger is delivering the right message, he said.

"When I say Mr. Wang is that worm that lives inside Mr. Ma's guts, I meant it in a positive way, in the sense that as the president's representative in cross-Strait talks, Beijing can rest assured his is truly speaking for Mr. Ma, which would definitely ease cross-Strait tensions," he was quoted as saying by local media.